New Item
by kuro's girl
Summary: Hunny gets sick and Kyouya suggests someone to take his place... MorixHaruhi
1. Substitute

**I've always wanted to write a Mori/Haruhi story, so here. Oh yeah, if any of you have a Livejournal, go check out the MorixHaruhi community. **

**Disclaimer: I own none of the characters. They belong to Bisco Hatori.**

New Item

Chapter 1

Substitute

Haruhi Fujioka was surprised to see that Mori had come to the Host Club alone today. It seemed so unnatural. Even the other hosts and customers were curious as to where Hunny was.

"Mori-senpai, where's Hunny-senpai?" Haruhi asked. He looked down at her with a depressed look on his face.

"He's sick." The customers started bombarding him with questions.

"This can't continue any further!" Tamaki cried. "Without Hunny, Mori's appeal to customers will go down!" For once, the self proclaimed king was right. All of Mori's customers felt awkward and babbled on about how much they missed Hunny.

At the end of the day, the Hosts sat in the music room thinking of ways to remedy now Hunny-less Mori. It had been confirmed by a phone call that the cake loving host would be out for a week or more.

"Did you think of anything, milord?" the twins asked.

"Yes! Hunny will be filled in by..."

"That could work." Kyouya commented while writing in his book. He got one of his trademark grins on his face. "Haruhi will fill in for Hunny." The rest of the Host Club froze.

"No! My daughter won't be subjected to that!" Tamaki exclaimed hugging Haruhi.

"How would that work?" Kaoru questioned. "She's not exactly cheerful all of the time." Haruhi glared at him.

"The customers may not like it at first, but it would be a change." the shadow king stated. "So she's going to do it whether she likes it or not."

Through the conversation, Mori had not said a word. He looked like he was staring into space. Haruhi went over and tapped him on the shoulder. "Are you okay with this Mori-senpai?"

"Hn."

"Why don't we call Hunny and see what he thinks?" Hikaru suggested getting out his cell phone and dialing the number.

"What do you want?" Hunny sounded horrible. His usual sweet and cute voice was replaced by a low hoarse squeak. It had not occurred to Hikaru that the ill host would be tired.

"We were wondering if Haruhi could fill in your spot until you get back." Kyouya had grabbed the phone from Hikaru. There was a brief silence.

"Of course!" Haruhi, Tamaki, and the twins were puzzled at the answer.

"If Mitsukuni says it's all right..." Mori said.

"I hope I don't have to eat a lot of cakes and sweets." Haruhi thought. "Damn rich bastards.

**I'm sorry that the first chapter is short.**


	2. An Awkward Situation

**I'm very grateful for all of the positive feedback! I apologize for the typos in chapter 1, so I made sure there wasn't any in this one.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

New Item

Chapter 2

An Awkward Situation

Haruhi did not like her new station in life. Not just because of all of Hunny's customers were giving her evil looks, but because her customers were fussing over her even more. However, the experience was not all that bad. She learned a bit about how Mori had visited America as a child. He was the only host Haruhi did not know much about, besides Kyouya.

"Maybe I'll be able to learn even more about Mori-sempai." she thought. Her thoughts were interrupted by a customer.

"It's a shame Hunny isn't here. Mori seems so depressed."

"Hunny will be better soon." the female host said.

She had to admit that the Host Club did undergo a change with him being gone. Kyouya had a slight smile on his face more often, probably because of all the money the Club was saving with the cake loving host not there. A smiling shadow king scared her more than a serious one. Mori, of course, was depressed. Tamaki was enjoying his increased amount of customers that use to be Hunny's. And the twins... were just the same.

"Mori, have you visited Hunny?" a customer asked.

"Mitsukuni is still contagious and requested me not to see him." he sighed.

"Poor Mori!" the girls squealed.

Haruhi wanted so much to say something comforting, but she did not want to make it look like Mori or she was gay. He made eye contact with her and appeared to understand what her intentions were. Some people said that sometimes words were not needed to communicate. Mori was a perfect example of silent communication.

"I think it's good that Haruhi is taking Hunny's place. That way Mori won't get lonely." one of Mori's customers commented. Mori made no reaction to the comment.

"No one can ever replace Hunny!" one of Hunny's customers said.

"I'm not trying to get his place. He said himself that it was okay."

"Well if Hunny said it..." That was one disaster avoided, but that was not the end of Haruhi's troubles. Some customers believed that since Haruhi was substituting for Hunny, she should eat sweets, too.

"Eat this cake, Haruhi!" She reluctantly took a bite. The taste was unfamiliar to her, but she kept on eating it.

As she got up to take away the tray, she failed to notice that someone had carelessly tossed their napkin on the floor. Before she knew it, she did a split then fell forward. Closing her eyes, she waited for the worst. Something wrapped around her shoulders. When her eyes opened, she was hanging in midair.

"Haruhi..."

"Mori-sempai?" she whispered. His grip was firm, but not to the point that it was hurting her. For some reason, it felt as if he was holding her longer than necessary.

All around, customers were screaming with glee. This made the female host blush. She did not like being in the limelight. Mori pulled her onto her feet and brushed her off. Thankfully, Host Club was over and the twins thought it was the perfect time to harass Tamaki.

"We think milord is jealous that Mori got to hold Haruhi."

"No I'm not! I'm just overwhelmed with concern!" However, Tamaki's mind theater was at work. He imagined catching Haruhi, only she was in a white dress and there were flowers everywhere.

"It seems our little experiment was a success." Kyouya stated as he was writing in his book. "Mori and Haruhi may be getting more customers."

"My customers?" Tamaki demanded.

"I didn't ask to be in this position." Haruhi glared at him and he went and sulked in a corner. She walked over to Mori. "Thank you for catching me." He ruffled her hair, which meant "you're welcome." Tamaki sulked even more.

As Haruhi walked home, her mind could not but drift back to the time when Mori had caught her. The idea of her face colliding with the floor was not pleasant. He always seemed to be there whenever she fell.

A noise behind her startled her. Turning around, she saw that it was Mori. "You scared me Mori-sempai. I thought you usually stayed awhile after school."

"I'm going to visit Mitsukuni's family."

"Oh. Tell them I hope Hunny-sempai feels better." To her surprise, he walked her home. "Thank you." He smiled at her and continued on his way.

**I tried to make up for the 1st chapter being so short.**


	3. What Do You Do With a Depressed Mori?

**I'm surprised how well this is doing. Thanks for all of the review and I would like to personally thank TakashiMorinozuka and TooSweet4Words for the useful tips.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

New Item

Chapter 3

What Do You Do With a Depressed Mori?

Mori had become more stolid than usual. It was a shame that he needed Hunny in order to have a personality. Quite a shame indeed. However, Mori's customer rate had not dropped in the slightest. In fact, it increased. Kyouya was taking advantage of this and began selling packets of photos with Mori and Haruhi.

The only one who seemed to notice all of this was Haruhi. She had always been able to tell what Mori's feelings were. How he was acting concerned her and she decided to somehow talk to him about it in private.

The female host had decided to walk around campus before Host Club began. While walking, she found Mori sitting on a bench with a far off look on his face.

"Mori-senpai?" He snapped back to reality.

"Haruhi."

"Is Hunny-senpai doing any better?"

"A little."

"You know, if Hunny-senpai not being around is affecting you this much, you shouldn't be at Host Club." The way Mori looked at her told her that she should have said it in a kinder way. "What I mean is that you should take a break from Host Club. It won't hurt to take a day off, would it?"

"I don't know." he replied.

"We could go together and ask." He smiled and ruffled her hair. Both of them went to Host Club.

"Tamaki-senpai, can Mori-senpai take a break from Host Club today?" she asked.

"The club would lose money." Kyouya answered before the self proclaimed king could say anything. "Why does he need the day off?"

"Because Hunny-senpai's absence is taking a toll on him. It's only one day. I'm sure all of you have taken off a least one day." Kyouya was unmoved by this, but as usual, Tamaki was overcome with emotion.

"Of course Mori can have the day off!" Tamaki said. Mori smiled at Haruhi and she knew he was saying 'thank you'. She smiled and nodded her head, which meant 'you're welcome'.

Host Club was more hectic than usual because of the millions of questions that were always the same...

"Where's Mori?"

"He's taking a break today." Haruhi replied. She was really starting to get annoyed.

"Why?"

"Hunny-senpai not being here has taken a toll on him."

"He's depressed?"

"Yes." the female host inwardly sighed.

"We should do something!" Mori's fans cried.

"Yes we should!" Tamaki said. "We will think of activities that will keep his mind off of Hunny."

"You really think that's possible?" Haruhi questioned.

"It won't be an easy task." Kyouya commented. The rest of Host Club was then spent on thinking of ways to distract Mori.

There were alot of ideas. A few girls suggested taking Mori to a fair. Others thought of taking him on a shopping trip. The idea of taking Mori to the fair was the most probable one until Haruhi pointed out that it would only result in Mori being even more depressed since Hunny would be sad that he could not go.

"Why don't we have a party?" Kaoru and Hikaru said.

"That's a perfect idea!" Tamaki exclaimed. "It will be a surprise party."

It was settled. Tomorrow the Host Club would have a surprise party for Mori. Truthfully, Haruhi did not think it would work, but she could be wrong.

Upon leaving the school, she heard noise coming from the dojo. "That must be Mori." she thought. Sure enough, it was him. He was blindfolded and was practicing hitting targets. She walked in to say hello, but her shoe squeaked. Apparently, Mori thought she was an intruder and swung his stick. She managed to dodge it, but fell down. He lifted his blindfold and saw Haruhi laying on the floor in a heap.

"Haruhi." When he pulled her to her feet, he also lifted her into the air. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." she said as she brushed herself off. "I should've known better and said something." There was a brief silence. "Ever since the incident at the beach, I've been thinking of taking some form of martial arts."

"Would you like to try this?" Mori asked. Before she could say anything, he had handed her the stick. "The idea is to hit in a certain spot." It did not sound too difficult, but Haruhi soon found otherwise. She swung the stick and completely missed. Again she tried, but got the same result. "Here." Mori had stepped behind her and placed his hands on hers. Guiding her movements, he taught her how to swing it correctly. He let go and she hit the target and smiled in satisfaction.

"I need more practice."

"I could teach you some more if you want another day." She was surprised to hear him say that.

"Thank you, I'd like that." Looking at the clock on the wall, she saw it was time for to go home and cook dinner. "Goodbye Mori-senpai."

"Goodbye Haruhi."

**Sorry that took so long. I had writers block. **


	4. Surprise Party

**Thanks for the reviews! Truthfully, I didn't think I would be updating before school was over.**

**Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine!**

New Item

Chapter 4

Surprise Party

For once, customers actually saw an expression on Mori's face. When he walked into Host Club, he was greeted with confetti and noise makers. The expression disappeared shortly afterwards. Customers flocked around him and he politely made his way through the mob.

"Hello Mori-senpai." Haruhi said. "Do you like the party?"

"Hn." He thought it was alright.

Kyouya was writing away in his notebook more than usual. With all of the decorations, not to mention the food, the party had to be very expensive. Haruhi was worried that the shadow king would somehow add the party expenses to her debt. However, her thoughts were on her future kendo lessons with Mori. It was about time she learned some type of self defense. The only one who knew about it was her father, who at first expressed concern, but in the end approved. She would never tell any of the other hosts for fear that they would pester her (which they did enough of).

Hunny's name was not mentioned once all day. Customers did not even say anything about sweets.

"Mori, I hear that the kendo competition is going on soon." a customer stated.

"Kendo competition?" the female host wondered.

"Of course you'll win!" another customer exclaimed.

During the conversation, Haruhi noticed that Mori looked like he had something on his mind, and it was not Hunny. "It must be the kendo match."

"Haruhi!" She winced, because she knew whose voice it was... Tamaki. "How do you like the party?"

"It's okay."

"What? How can my daughter not be enjoying something I organized?"

"Actually, it was Kyouya who organized it, you just came up with the idea." Haruhi had always had a bad habit of saying things bluntly. Now Tamaki was in a corner, arms around his knees and pouting.

Suddenly, she felt two hands on her shoulders. It was the twins. "This is so boring." Hikaru yawned.

"How can you be bored with me around?" Kaoru said grabbing his brother's face and pulling it close, making the customers squeal in delight. When they looked to where Haruhi was sitting, they saw that she was gone.

She had decided to slip away while the twins were busy. If they were bored, that meant that at some point they would harass her. Besides, she had to use the bathroom. This was where she encountered some difficulties. In all of her time at Host Club, has never had to use the bathroom.

"Since I'm dressed as a boy, does that mean I have to use the boy's bathroom?" Usually she was calm about most things, but she did not want her secret to be discovered by the customers. Taking a deep breath, she entered the boy's bathroom.

When she went in, she was not surprised about how elegant it looked. It had a sparkling (literally) white tile floor with a mirror that ran all the way to the other end of the bathroom. There were even some arm chairs. "Damn rich bastards."

Not wasting any time, she hurried into one of the stalls.

As she was washing her hands, she looked up and saw Mori standing behind her.

"M... Mori-senpai!"

"Haruhi. There was something I wanted to ask you."

"Yes?"

"Since you wanted to take kendo lessons, I wondered..."

"You want me to come to the kendo competition?" He nodded. She thought for a moment. "I'd be happy to." He smiled and ruffled her hair.

**I know that was short. Please forgive me!**


	5. Meet Mori's Parents

**I'm sorry that Chapter 4 was short. Thanks to everyone that reviewed. I still can't believe this story is doing so well. It has over 50 reviews! I apologize for taking so long to write this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

New Item

Chapter 5

Meet Mori's Parents

Haruhi was extremely nervous. Mori's parents had requested to meet her. It almost made it seem like they were a couple. Her main concern was hiding the event from the other hosts. Thankfully, Mori had planned the meeting on the weekend.

"Oh Haruhi, I'm sure Mori's parents will love you." Ranka said. For the occasion, her father had picked out a nice dress for her to wear.

Mori came to pick Haruhi up in a sleek, black limo. It was a change to get in the limo herself without someone pulling her in. To her surprise, he came around and helped her into the limo.

"Would you like something to drink?" Mori asked.

"No thank you." Haruhi folded her hands in her lap and stared out the window.

"Don't be nervous, Haruhi." She looked at him and nodded with a smile on her face.

"I'm looking forward to meeting your parents, Mori-senpai."

Before long, they arrived at the Morinozuka estate. It was fairly large with a fountain and flowers planted in front. Mori came around and helped her out of the car, then led her inside.

The inside was well furnished with paintings lining the walls. Some of the furniture looked like antiques, but they were still elegant. Haruhi took some time to take in her surroundings.

"Hello Taka!" Mori's brother, Satoshi said. "Hello..." He paused as he saw what she was wearing. "Taka! How come you never told me Haruhi was a girl?" The female host could not help giggling because of the look on Satoshi's face.

A butler came and showed them into a large room which Haruhi figured was the living room. It was larger than her apartment.

"Hello Haruhi, my name is Mana. I am Takashi's mother." Mana was a woman of medium height, with brown hair and brown eyes.

"I am Hiro, Takashi's father."

"Ah, so Mori-senpai looks exactly like his father, but he has his mother's eyes." The female host thought.

"Mitsukuni's parents wanted to meet you too, but they have been going to and from the hospital." Mana said. "Tell us about yourself, Haruhi."

Haruhi became a little tense at this question. What should she say? How would they react when she told them her father was a cross dresser? And most importantly, why was she nervous in the first place? She took a moment to calm down.

"I enjoy cooking and I'm studying to become a lawyer."

"I have never been much of a cook." Mana commented.

"My mother left me recipes. If you'd like, I'll make something for you."

"That would be wonderful Haruhi."

"Haruhi, would you like to take a tour of the mansion?" Satoshi asked. She nodded her head in reply.

The rest of the mansion was furnished with the same kind of furniture that was in the living room and hallway. Expensive paintings hung on the walls. Occasionally, Mana would tell Haruhi about the paintings and the design of the mansion.

Eventually, they arrived at a small, private dojo located in the back.

"Takashi tells me you want to learn kendo." Hiro said. "Kendo would be perfect for you." He went over to a rack and grabbed a wooden pole. "This is called a shinai. It's a practice sword. People who practice kendo are called kendoka or kenshi." He handed the shinai to Haruhi. "You can have this and you can use our dojo whenever you like."

"Thank you."

"Haruhi, would you like to stay for dinner?" Mana questioned.

"I would like that." she replied.

"Until then, you can start learning the basics and fundamentals of kendo." Hiro said. "But before that, you need to change your clothes." Haruhi soon found herself in an outfit identical to the one Mori usually wore.

For the next forty five minutes, she sat and listened to the history, concept, and basics of kendo. Mori and Satoshi helped her with beginner kendo exercises. Despite the fact that it was challenging, she was enjoying herself. Mori never said a word, but whenever she looked at him, his eyes told her that he was enjoying himself, too.

At dinner, Haruhi explained more of her home life. When she told them about her father, there was a moment of silence.

"He must have good fashion sense. You should bring him next time." Mana said.

"Mori-senpai must've said something, because their reactions aren't what I expected. I'm glad he did." the female host thought.

Mori accompanied Haruhi home and walked her to the door.

"I had a nice time, Mori-senpai."

"Call me Takashi." Haruhi was surprised.

"Thank you, Takashi."

The two stared at each other. When Haruhi looked down, she saw that they were holding hands. "E... excuse me!" She hurried into the apartment and leaned against the door. "What just happened?" Little did she know was that Mori was thinking the same thing.

**I don't think I've ever seen a fic where Mori's father makes an appearance. I got the kendo terms from the internet, so if there's anything wrong, please tell me! I'll try and not take as long to write the next chapter.**


	6. Two's Company, Host Club's a Disaster

**Over 100 people have this story on alert. That's amazing! Thank you for the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story.**

New Item

Chapter 6

Two's Company, Host Club's a Disaster

The events from the weekend were still fresh in Haruhi's mind. She had held Mori's hand, and then ran into her apartment without saying goodbye. The problem was that she had no idea why she did it.

"I'm sorry Takashi for what happened this weekend." she said as they were practicing kendo.

"It's fine."

Neither of them said anything else about the incident.

The female host was slowly becoming better at kendo. With her newfound hobby, she bought a few books about kendo. Occasionally, she would read one in school. However, when she did read, it was in secret. If the other hosts found out about her learning kendo it would be a disaster. Unfortunately, fate had a funny way of doing things.

One day while in Host Club, the twins spotted her book. "The History of Kendo?" they looked at her quizzically.

"Are you harassing my daughter?" Tamaki demanded. He saw the book in Kaoru's hand. "Why do you have a book on kendo?"

"It's mine." Haruhi said.

"Ah, I didn't think that you would read something like that."

"It's interesting." she commented.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kyouya. "He knows." she thought. It was no surprise to her, though. He was always the one to figure things out first. The good thing was that he would never tell. He found it amusing for people to find out on their own.

After Host Club, she meet Mori in the school dojo. She changed and took her place next to him. "After a few more lessons, you'll be moving up to wearing a bogu."

"That means we'll be fighting each other then?" He looked at her and smiled.

"Mori, I didn't think that you'd still be here." Haruhi did not even bother to turn around. She knew who it was. The self proclaimed king tilted his head to the side. "Who's that practicing kendo with you?" Haruhi turned around and Tamaki's eyes went big. "Haruhi?" To make things worse, the twins appeared over his shoulder.

"So that's why you had that book, we thought so." Hikaru said.

"How long has this been going on?" Tamaki asked starting to go into hysterics.

"A few weeks." she replied.

"Haruhi, you look so cute in your outfit!" the twins started hugging her. Mori just stood by and watched the proceedings.

"Damn rich bastards." she muttered.

"Why did you start learning kendo?" Tamaki questioned.

"Because I didn't want to have another repeat of what happened at the beach."

Tamaki's mind theater started to play. In it, he pictured Haruhi in a kimono and holding a sword. "A warrior princess!" he cried.

"Milord took that rather well." Kaoru whispered to Haruhi.

"I know that Mori will take good care of my daughter."

The female host's prediction had come true; the other hosts had found out and now would most likely come to watch her practice. She had been upset when they showed up at her house unannounced and when she worked at the inn. Yet, this time was different. She had the urge to smack them with her shinai.

The king and twins stayed there and watched them practice. Hikaru thought it was fun to grab her shinai and pull her toward him.

"Leave my daughter alone!" Tamaki cried.

After practice, Haruhi wanted to talk to Mori, but was unable to because of the twins. "Bye Takashi." she mouthed the words to him. "I'm sorry." He smiled and mouthed goodbye.

She decided that she would go to Mori's house to train.

**I had a hard time figuring out how the other hosts were going to find out. Stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	7. The Kendo Competition

**Holy crap, it's been a while since I've written anything. I know that a lot of you are disappointed that the chapters are so short, so here's a somewhat long one to make it up to you (I have my reasons for not making it longer)! Seriously, you all have no idea how much I appreciate your reviews.**

**Disclaimer: Host Club characters belong to Bisco Hatori.**

New Item

Chapter 7

The Kendo Competition

A limo pulled up in front of Haruhi's apartment. Out of it came Tamaki, Kyouya, and the twins. The self proclaimed king knocked on the door which was answered by Ranka.

"I'm guessing you're here for Haruhi?" The group nodded. "Well then you're out of luck. Mori's family came by earlier to pick her up."

The twins looked at each other with curious looks on their faces, Tamaki was dumbfounded, and Kyouya remained his usual composed self.

"Where did she go?" Tamaki asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kyouya said. "She went to the kendo competition."

"What? Let's hurry and get there!"

The place were the kendo competition was being held at was huge. All around Haruhi saw flags of different countries. On the way in, many people greeted Mori and his family.

"Taka's pretty famous in the kendo world." Satoshi whispered to Haruhi.

When they got to their seats, she saw that there were two people already there. "Haruhi, this is Mamori, Mitsukuni's mother and Etsu, Mitsukuni's father." Mana said.

"Mitsukuni has told us a lot about you." Mamori said.

"How is Hunny doing?" the female host questioned.

"He's gotten over the illness, but he still needs to stay home because his immune system is vulnerable."

"I'm glad that he's better."

"He's happy that you're learning kendo."

"Speaking of which. You never learned how a kendo competition works." Hiro said. First off, a kendo competition is called a shiai. It lasts for five minutes. There are three referees who decide whether or not points should be given using flags. You only get points when the attack is made firmly and properly to a target with ki-ken-tai-chi."

"That means spirit, sword, and body as one." Haruhi interjected.

"I didn't know you were doing in depth research." Hiro commented. "See where Takashi and his opponent are at? That is called a Shiai-jo."

The referee waved his flag, signaling the start of the match. At first, Haruhi could only see a flurry of sticks. "Takashi isn't that aggressive whenever we practice." she thought. With a swift movement, Mori swung his shinai and struck his opponent. The referees paused a moment before swinging their flags, indicating a point for Mori.

After excusing herself, Haruhi went to find the bathroom. In the hallway was Mori. "Takashi, congratulations on your match."

"I'm glad that you came."

"Takashi..." She began to move closer to him, but was interrupted.

"There you are Haruhi!" Tamaki said. "Do you like making your father sick by not telling him where you went?"

"Damn rich bastard." she muttered. Seeing that the other hosts were there, she hurried into the bathroom.

Leaning against the wall, she tilted her head toward the ceiling. "Why do I feel like this every time the others come when I'm with Takashi?" She sighed. "Mom, I wish you were here to tell me." She paused at the door. "I'm sure that it's nothing."

When she came out of the bathroom, the other hosts were gone. "They got tired of waiting." Mori said.

"Don't you have another match?"

"Not for a while."

"Is that your girlfriend, Mori?" The owner of the voice had an accent that was definitely not Japanese. Upon looking at the uniform, Haruhi saw that he was from America. He had strawberry blond hair and had brown eyes. "You never told me you had one." he said as he patted Mori on the back. "Oh, my name is Steven Bly."

"I'm Haruhi Fujioka."

"So how long have you known Mori?" Steven asked.

"A year and we aren't dating."

"Sorry, my parents do say that I presume things too much." he chuckled. "Well, I'll be seeing more of you later. I'm going to stay with Mori for a bit after the competition is over." He waved goodbye, leaving Mori and Haruhi alone.

"I never knew you had an American friend."

"I met him a few years ago."

A bell sounded indicating that the next match would start soon. "I have to prepare for my next match." He smiled, ruffled her hair, and then walked away. She stood there until he was out of sight.

When she got back to her seat, the other hosts had made themselves comfortable in whatever seats they could find. The twins looked bored, a bad sign for the female host. Tamaki was busy talking to a girl and Kyouya was watching the match.

"Mi lord, it was pointless to come here." Kaoru whispered.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Haruhi is preoccupied with the Morinozukas' and Huninozukas'." Kyouya replied fixing his glasses. The group paused and looked at her.

"Hikaru's been moody since she's been spending a lot of time with Mori." Kaoru said. "We should leave."

Haruhi was surprised when she saw them leave. Usually they would stay longer.

"Did you see Takashi?" Mana inquired.

"Yes, and I met his friend Steven."

"Steven is a very nice and funny young man." Mana commented.

Haruhi did not bring up the fact that Steven thought Mori and her were dating. Tamaki and the twins would make a scene.

Dating was a foreign word to her. Arai had asked her out in middle school, but she was too oblivious to realize it. "Maybe I'll found out what it means some day." she thought.

A while later, Mori became the winner of the tournament. Everyone stood and clapped. "Good job Taka!" Satoshi said.

"Haruhi, why don't you come out with us to dinner?" Mana asked.

"I'd like that."

**And that's chapter seven! I know, not as long as it should be, but I don't want to cram too many things in one chapter. I hope that you liked Steven.**


	8. Kendo is not the Place for That!

**I was planning to have a new chapter up by the end of May... obviously that didn't happen. Thanks for all of the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. Everything belongs to Bisco Hatori.**

New Item

Chapter 8

Kendo is not the Place for That!

"Have you noticed that Kaoru and Hikaru have been moody lately?" Kyouya asked while writing in his notebook. Currently, neither of them had customers and were in a corner away from the rest of the Club.

"Yes, I have." Haruhi replied.

"Do you know why that is?"

"No." The shadow king looked at her in disbelief. "Are you saying that it's my fault?" she demanded.

"Not all your fault. It's Mori's, too."

Something clicked in her brain. "Is it because of kendo?"

"Not exactly. It's the fact that you two spend so much time together."

"So they're... jealous, but Hikaru is worse." She thought of the incident at Misuzu's penisone with her old classmate, Arai. She sighed in relief, if the twins were that jealous, they would be more open about it.

"If they continue to act like this, it may affect the club." He looked at her expectantly.

"And it will be added to my debt." she said automatically.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. Besides, if they lose customers, the Club can still make money by selling photos of you and Mori."

"Damn rich bastard." she muttered.

"How wonderful! A mother-daughter conversation." Tamaki said as he walked over to them. "But enough of that, come over to hear Mori's good news!" The female host had already heard the news, but she still went over with the group.

"Hunny-kun is coming back soon!" a customer cried. This was followed by squeals of joy, but Kyouya did not seem very happy because now there would be added expenses for all of the sweets.

"Haruhi, are you going to miss being Mori-kun's item?" a customer questioned.

"Not really. Besides, now I can spend more time with my customers." All of the girls in the vicinity blushed.

"Now we can get Haruhi back." The twins had wrapped their arms around her.

"What should we do to mark the occasion?" Kaoru asked his twin.

"Don't harass my daughter!" Tamaki said low enough just for them to hear.

"Um, Haruhi-kun." It was the same customer who was talking to her earlier. "Can I take a picture of you and Mori-kun?" The self proclaimed king, twins, and the female host were stunned, but Kyouya answered first.

"Of course! We also have photo packages!" he announced with a smile.

"Shouldn't I have been the one to answer the question?" Haruhi whispered. "And didn't you just say you wouldn't be selling photos?"

"I'll subtract it from your debt." Now how could she argue with that?

Tamaki was in hysterics. Apparently he had gotten the wrong impression about the photos. The mind theater was at work and showed a scantily clad Haruhi in the arms of Mori.

"My daughter will be in shame!"

Hikaru had become moody again. The expression on his face was close to a look of pouting. Normally in a situation like this Kaoru would take his twin in his arms and comfort him (one of the things customers always looked forward to). However, when Haruhi was involved Kaoru had to use a different approach.

"We can always take pictures with Haruhi later."

Hikaru looked at his twin. "I guess you're right."

At first, customers were content with Haruhi and Mori sitting next to each other. Over time, people began asking for poses such as: putting her head on his shoulder and both of them hugging. The latest request made her head spin. She was to sit on his lap with her arms around his neck. This caused the self proclaimed king to sit in a corner and pout.

"Is this alright with you Takashi?" she asked quietly. He shook his head in response.

Slowly, she sat on his lap sideways and put her arms in the requested position. Squeals went through the crowd. The shadow king was happily scribbling in his notebook as customers requested photo packages.

* * *

The female host did not let the days events bother her during kendo. She had been that close to Mori before so it was nothing new. The only thing she was worried about now was blocking Mori's shiai.

"Mitsukuni said he wants to come and watch you practice." he said.

A quick "okay" was all that she could manage as a response.

Despite his size, the silent host was surprisingly agile as he had shown on many occasions. Of course he did not spar with his partner like he would in a real match.

After lightly tapping her, she bent down in exhaustion.

"Are you alright?" he inquired with a very concerned look.

"Yeah." she panted. "Just out of breath."

He sat down and drank water. "They'll probably post those pictures on the website." he commented.

"A lot of things seem to go on the website." she thought in annoyance.

"Usually I don't like taking pictures..." he froze, but his companion did not notice that or his previous statement. "Are you ready to train some more?"

"Yes."

Both of them took their positions and bowed to each other. There was a loud clacking sound as the two shiais' connected. It went like a regular match should be, but then things took a turn.

Mori placed his shiai behind Haruhi's back and pushed her towards him. "Takashi?" This definitely was not part of kendo.

"Haruhi." he whispered then placed his lips on hers. She was in a brief moment of shock before closing her eyes and returning the kiss. Her shiai dropped to the floor so the distance between them was shortened.

When their lips separated, they stared at each other for a few moments. "Takashi... what just happened?" There was no reply. She was not upset, rather she was checking to see whether or not the kiss actually happened. She had kissed someone before, but it was not planned, neither was this one. However, the difference between the two was that she enjoyed the latter.

She leaned in again and though he was taller than her, he gladly bent down. Kendo would have to wait. When they kissed the second time, her hands went on his chest and he placed an arm around her waist. She was thankful that the door to the dojo was closed.

"Takashi, our kendo lesson is almost over." She did not want to arouse suspicion if they stayed longer than they were supposed to.

After they had changed into normal clothes, she said her goodbyes and hurried home. Flopping down on her bed, she replayed the events in her mind. One thing was for sure, she did not care what the Club would say.

**So, how was that for a longer chapter? I hope I kept them both in character. **


	9. Thoughts of an Unintentional Cross Dress

**Hey there, sorry for the wait, I've been at college. I would first like to apologize to the people who I told that this story would be updated for Christmas. This chapter has been giving me some problems. Thanks for the reviews and before I start the story, I'd like say something. I got a review a while back signed from Rose. Her review was a critique of my story and she apologized for flaming me. I don't regard the review as a flame, but constructive criticism. Not once did she say "You suck." or anything like that. She pointed out some things that I could do better and I thank her for it. Hopefully, she'll read this one day and realize that I'm very grateful.**

**Disclaimer: Host Club was created by Bisco Hatori.**

New Item

Chapter 9

Thoughts of an Unintentional Cross Dresser

Today was a special day for the Host Club; Hunny was returning. As he entered while on Mori's shoulders, customers squealed in delight. Kyouya sat in the corner, writing in his book with a slight frown on his face. This was most likely because of the fact that large amounts of money would be spent on sweets again.

Since it was a special occasion, some of Hunny's regulars brought him gift baskets filled with sweets. As his eyes lit up at the sight, the customers squealed even more. Even through all of the current chaos, Haruhi was still able to be in deep thought.

The memory of Mori's lips on hers kept replaying in her mind. That was her first kiss (from a boy that is) and she was at a loss on what to make of it. Was it the spur of the moment that prompted her to kiss back or was it something more? After the kiss, she had felt so... happy?

"Haru-chan!" Hunny cried jumping on her. "Are you happy to see me?"

"Yes."

"I heard your kendo lessons have been going well." There was something about his smile that she could not place. "Can I watch you sometime?"

"Sure."

"I'd also like to watch." Tamaki said coming up behind her.

"You just want to see what she looks like in her practice uniform." Kaoru whispered in his ear.

"For your information, I'm interested in seeing the progress my daughter has made!" As the two proceeded to argue (and Hikaru later joined in), the female host went back to brooding.

"Maybe he was tired." Whenever Mori was sleepy, he would undergo a complete personality change, much like Hunny, except he was not deadly. The silent host became more talkative and was sweet.

Her biggest concern, however, was that the rest of the Club would find out about the incident. The night before, she did not care, but yesterday she had done a number of things uncharacteristic of her. If the Club found out, she knew that her life would be even more chaotic.

"You seem deep in thought today." Kyouya commented, suddenly appearing beside her. Not only was he a rich bastard, but a sneaky rich bastard.

"It won't affect my time with the customers." Her intent was to end the conversation, since the shadow king was known to pick up on things quickly. After all, he was the first one to realize Haruhi was a girl.

"I decided to hack off some of your debt since you were Mori's 'item'." This caught her by surprise. She was not even sure how much she owed anymore and every time she asked, Kyouya would somehow evade the topic.

"Thank you." The shadow king smiled (which could sometimes be a scary thing).

"Just try not to add it back on." With that, he resumed his place at the table.

* * *

Truthfully, when the others hosts had asked if they could watch her sometime, she did not think that it meant today. It was very distracting when Tamaki was constantly making oohs and ahhs during her matches against Mori. That, and she was certain that Kyouya was figuring out how to make money by taking pictures. The twins sat there, surprisingly not saying a word. Hunny, on the other hand, was studying the fighting pair intently.

Finally, after three matches, she had won. As she was taking a drink of water, the twins sat on both sides of her.

"You seem to have gotten pretty strong. Are you going to continue your lessons?" Kaoru asked.

"Until I'm able to beat Ta...Mori-senpai more often, then I need to continue training." Neither of the twins seemed to notice her slip.

"We don't get to see you as much." Hikaru said after he wiped water off her chin with his mouth.

"What are you doing to my daughter?" the self proclaimed king demanded.

"Time to get back to practicing." she muttered.

While sparring against Mori, she noticed that he seemed even more focused than usual. It was probably hard not to go full force on an opponent. She did not even notice that Mori's father, Hiro, had come in.

"How about trying to use a real sword?" he questioned. Tamaki began to have one of his classic episodes in the background.

"Is his highness worried that Haruhi might use it on him?" Hikaru whispered.

"Of course not! What if she hurts herself?"

"Don't worry, Takashi will be there." Hunny said.

The feature now showing in Tamaki's Mind Theater was one involving an injured Haruhi being cradled in Mori's arms, his face close to hers.

"Ah!" He began shaking his head. "Mom, aren't you worried about our daughter?" he asked Kyouya.

"Like Hunny said, Mori will be there. Besides, Haruhi knows how to handle herself." This answer seemed to calm Tamaki.

"It's close to dinner, why don't all of you join us?" Hiro inquired.

Despite the fact that all of the Host Club was there, dinner was relatively normal. The twins had pushed their King out of the way to sit next to Haruhi. Mori's eyes had returned to their usual look, but when they made eye contact, they appeared to be regarding her intently. Something was definitely on his mind.

Thankfully, the hosts took their leave after dinner. If she was going to be using a sword, she needed concentration. It was a little heavy at first, requiring her to use both hands. She had read that sword handling eventually led to calloused hands.

"Before we spar, you need to practice using the sword first." Mori said. He indicated bundles of straw standing up. "Cut them." She looked at him quizzically. That was all she had to do?

Taking her stance, he inhaled and then swung her sword at the nearest bundle. She was not even close and ended up on her knees.

"You're putting too much power into your swing." he said as he helped her up. "Try again." She did so and managed to send a few pieces of straw into the air, stumbling in the process. Mori said nothing and she took this as a sign to continue.

Tightening her hold on the hilt, she took a deep breath and swung. More straw went into the air this time. The sword was beginning to feel lighter in her hands. Now, the only obstacle was the judgment on the length of the sword. She took a moment to study it, and then swung again. The top half landed on the floor. It was not a perfect cut, but decent for a beginner.

"Is everything all right Takashi?" she asked after seeing him stare intently at her. He remained silent for a moment, as if in deep thought. "Is it about what happened yesterday?" She took his slight head movement as a yes. "You must've been tired."

"No, I wasn't." She tilted her head. "Haruhi...Would you like to go out with me sometime?" The female host was dumbfounded.

"Takashi just...asked me out on a date." she thought. How was this any different from the other times guys asked her out? Oh yeah, she just happened to like this one. "Yes, I would."

**Oh boy, I can't help but think that last bit was OOC. Hopefully it wasn't too bad. I apologize again for taking so long to update. Hope you enjoyed it.**


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